Dec 17 2007
ionscope Limited a UK microscopy company, has announced the appointment of Dr Shelley Wilkins as Head of Sales and Marketing in response to a dramatic increase in global demand for their technology.
ionscope is the principal manufacturer of a radical new microscopy system, Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy (SICM) which has been developed jointly by a team of scientists working at Imperial College and Cambridge University. Its products are able to produce images of living cell membranes at resolutions fifty times greater than achievable using a conventional optical microscope. Other high magnification techniques interfere with or kill living cells, whereas SICM is benign, allowing living cells to be studied over long periods. The technique has application in the study of living processes at nano-scale, which to date has included neurons, heart muscle, kidney, sperm and stem cells.
This new appointment is just the latest step in the growth and development of the company this year, which has included an investment into the company by business angels, the sale of its first products and the generation of substantial revenues. The company’s latest installation at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States for high resolution cell imaging adds to a portfolio of high profile users of ionscope’s products.
Dr Shelley Wilkins obtained her DPhil in Physical Chemistry from Oxford University in hydrodynamic Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Electrochemistry. Shelley was previously the Managing Director for Asylum Research UK, a premier manufacturer of AFMs.
Noah Freedman CEO of ionscope limited, said, “It has been an exceptional year for ionscope. We are delighted to announce appointment of Dr Shelley Wilkins as Head of Sales and Marketing. We have plans to expand our manufacturing capabilities in 2008 to meet with this surge in interest and demand. It is a very exciting time for the company.”